Question about H II regions

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julesfrog

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Hi,

I'm a newbie on this forum. I've been developing a strong interest for astronomy this past year and have learned quite a lot via space.com, Wikipedia and books. But I do have one question regarding H II regions. I know this might sound like a "what came first question, the egg or the chicken?" question, but how do H II regions form to begin with. In other words, how does the gas forming these regions come to existence?
 
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drwayne

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julesfrog,

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Saiph

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The hydrogen in HII regions, as well as all lithium, and almost all helium are atoms created when the universe cooled after the big bang.

If your asking why it all clumped into the HII regions...thats a bit more complicated :)
 
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SpaceTas

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Now to be specific the HII (excited) regions are hydrogen etc clouds "lit up" by stars; seen as pinkish nebulae on photos eg M42 in Orion. HI (neutral) regions are hydrogen clouds not "lit up"., seen as dark nebulae eg coal sack or horse-head. tHen there are reflection nebulae when starlight reflects off dust example round Antares.
 
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